Italians want emotion back: Maserati eyes a manual-gearbox supercar

© A. Krivonosov

Maserati may be returning to an idea most sports brands have all but buried: a petrol-powered supercar with a manual gearbox. Against the backdrop of soft sales and talk of future partners, such a project will not rescue the company financially, but it could give it back something it has long been missing — the genuine interest of enthusiasts.

Bottegafuoriserie head Cristiano Fiorio told Autocar that around half of the customers of Maserati’s bespoke arm specifically want a petrol engine and a manual gearbox. According to him, when the brand is ready to unveil a new Bottega programme, a manual option will have to be part of the line-up. Engineering boss Davide Danesin also described a manual gearbox as «an opportunity».

For now this is not a confirmed production model but rather an open hint: Maserati is exploring the niche of expensive, low-volume cars for clients who care not only about acceleration figures, but also about driver involvement. If the project reaches production, the prime candidate for the engine will be the in-house 3.0-litre V6 Nettuno. It currently produces up to 630 hp without electric assistance and already powers the MCPura, GranTurismo and Grecale.

The company calls it a key part of Maserati’s character and plans to develop mild-hybrid and full-hybrid versions, but no plug-in hybrids. For the brand, it would be the first true manual-gearbox supercar in decades — the first since the Bora of the 1970s. The potential flagship could become the most extreme petrol Maserati since the MC12 and, according to rumours, share part of its development with a future Alfa Romeo special.

The catch is that image-led cars do not solve everything. Maserati remains in a tough spot: sales are weak, even though individual models receive solid reviews. Even the MC20 failed to sharply change perception of the brand. So a limited-run manual supercar is more likely to be a loud reminder that Maserati can still speak to enthusiasts than a cure. At the same time, Maserati boss Santo Ficili insists the brand is not for sale.

Stellantis, he says, is in talks with two outside companies about technological cooperation, especially in electronic architecture and components. BYD has been mentioned among the rumours, while Ficili has ruled out JLR. For Maserati, a clutch pedal may turn out to be not a step back, but a way to become visible again. Sometimes a brand does not need another promise about the future, but a car the driver actually wants to shift gears in.